While Floyd was handcuffed and lying face down on a city street during the arrest, Derek Chauvin, a white Minneapolis police officer, kept his knee on the right side of Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, this according to the criminal complaint against Chauvin.
The recent murder of George Floyd and his haunting final words which echo those of Eric Garner who died after being placed in a chokehold by NYC police officer Daniel Pantaleo six years ago show us how little things have changed.
Last Thursday, Detroit’s police chief, James Craig, stood with community leaders to condemn the four Minneapolis police officers for their involvement in the videotaped murder of Floyd.
Within days of Floyd’s murder, Chief Craig said he sent out a memo to DPD officers reminding them that the choke-hold the Minneapolis officers used is banned in the city.
The entire world is able to see and witness how police brutality has yet again claimed another black life,” said Kamilia K. Landrum, Executive Director of the Detroit Branch NAACP.
